August Issue 2002
DownTownes in Greenville, SC, Features Works by Mark Nelson
DownTownes in Greenville, SC, will host the exhibit Figures and Flowers: Photographs by Mark Nelson from Aug. 29 through Oct. 24, 2002.
According to photographer Mark Nelson he works two ways, internally and externally. The "internal work" comes from his own imagination - he is very deliberate in how he re-creates and photographs them. The "external work' includes those moments, where a tree, a wall, or a seedpod catches his attention and he want to capture that moment and share it with other people. People rush through their lives and miss so much. Perhaps Nelson's images will help them see a few things they missed along the way. His interests in the world around him are very wide-ranging and his photography reflects that.
Nelson says, "I enjoy photographing people. Even though a photograph represents a point in time, the images should tell you where people have been, where they are now, and where they are going. My greatest love though is the human figure and capturing both the physical beauty and the spiritual beauty within the person I am photographing. I love how the process of photographing a person may encourage them to reveal who they wish to become and encourages them to become more aware of their own energy, power and magic."
The camera is a means to explore the world and people. The camera is Nelson's journal, it is a sophisticated tool which provides a path to his own growth. He describes the process as making a choice when you take a photograph. You choose what is important to you. The final image is then colored by reaching deep down inside yourself and creating your own visualization of the flower, the tree, or the human figure. Hopefully when someone views your image, this feeling is passed on to them to share and enjoy.
Mark Nelson, now of Walhalla, SC, was raised on a farm near Champaign, IL. He sometimes thinks that some of the tasks of working on a farm led him to be more aware of what he saw around him, that and the artistic interests passed on to him by his mother. Nelson's sister, Linda Nelson Stocks, is a very successful folk artist.
Nelson became interested in photography while a student at the University of Illinois, where he received both his Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree.
Due to the demands of his professional career as the Executive Director of an outpatient mental health clinic, Nelson set photography aside until about 5 years ago, when friends asked him to shoot their portrait prior to their wedding. The reaction to the resulting photographs was so positive that Nelson was encouraged to keep shooting. Since that time, he has immersed himself in fine art photography with a passion. He began photographing flowers, people, landscapes and anything else that interested him. Nelson says, "I enjoy photographing people the most. It feels magical when you create an image that seems to capture the inner spirit and energy of someone."
Over the years, Nelson has also developed an interest in computer graphics. He was excited by the possibility of working in a "digital darkroom", where two interests could be combined. Finding this approach gave Nelson more freedom to create images that matched his visualization of his photographic subjects.
Nelson prefers to work primarily in black and white photography, though occasionally he is seduced by an image that only seems to work in color.
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